Wing of a Butterfly

Chapter 9

The man watched as the red and orange hues of the setting sun painted the sky even through the greyness of the busy city. The gentle sounds of the water from the fountain in the garden was almost inaudible under the noise of the cars hurrying through the late afternoon traffic.

The man put down the book in his hands then leaned on the stone railing only glancing to the side for a moment as he heard the door open behind him and steps getting closer. He turned around when he saw a folder enter his view as Chan held it out for him to take.

He took it, then stepped over to the armchair to be able to sit down. He looked at the documents in the folder, his brows slightly raising as he saw the photos.

"This is all the information we gathered on the man that saved Khun Kinn a month ago." said Chan, standing at attention a little further away. "Our queries came back empty the first few times as he is employed at the mansion."

Korn frowned hearing that as he looked at the photos of the two young boys from years ago then glanced at the newer ones of the younger man with Macau at a mall and an even more recent one that showed the older brother standing next to Vegas at an event.

"How long had he been working for the second family?" asked the older man as he put down the photos and started to look through the documents.

"He started over two years ago at the mansion but there is some information that points that he and Khun Vegas knew each other for longer. There is no indication that he and Khun Kan ever met and based on our findings he never even visited the second family's compound." answered Chan dutifully.

The bodyguard straightened as he felt a slight, rhythmic vibration on his leg. He glanced at his watch then reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket to pull out a slim metal container before stepping closer to the older man and handing it over.

The man didn't even glance up, just took the container and slid out two tablets into his palm then swallowed them with a sip of water from the glass on the table before him and handed the metal tube back to Chan not even taking his eyes off the papers in his lap.

"Khun Kinn shows heightened interest in the man." added Chan just as Korn reached the last page of the gathered information. "He asked one of our men to patrol around the bar he used to work at."

"What do you think is the reason behind his interest?" asked Korn as he put down the papers and lifted the newest photo again, his eyes sliding over the tall man's elegant form as he stood next to his older nephew with a smile on his face.

"I believe it's a romantic one."

Chan held back himself from the grimace as he remembered the embarrassment that said interest caused at the last quarterly meeting after Kinn made an offer to pay for any information that could be gathered on the man with an extra bonus if the information was about his name, interests or relationship status. Chan sometimes felt like he was governing over a bunch of children instead of professional bodyguards and members of the mafia.

Korn put everything back into the folder and handed it to his bodyguard before he looked at the table before him to take in the current standing of the chess game.

"Any updates about my brother's schedule?" asked the older man as he pointed at the other end of the table, signalling Chan to sit down.

"He still plans to return in the middle of next month." said Chan as he started to think about his next move.

Korn watched him for a moment or two before he glanced at the accounting book that was laying open on the little table next to the stone railing. He was looking through it for almost the whole afternoon, double and triple checking the balances, trying to find any differences. He didn't know if he should be pleased or not that there wasn't any.